A man recently shared with me that he always wears a baseball cap when playing golf. I assumed that this was to block out the bright sun. He went on to say that when he wears his brimmed hat, which he  pulls down just over his hairline, he is able to focus on his next shot to a much greater degree. Many major league baseball pitchers can be seen with their cap pulled down low over their eyes. It is my understanding that this is done to tune-out as much of the peripheral distraction as possible and focus simply on getting the ball from the mound to the catcher’s mitt.

When we think about the child with autism and his/her hypersensitivity to visual stimulation, it makes sense to think that something as simple as a baseball cap could have much the same effect as it does for the golfer and the pitcher. I suggest that you attempt this simple intervention next time you and your child are going somewhere particularly overstimulating (arcade for a birthday party, county fair, movie theater, etc).

The infamous Pedro Martinez.